First Charming Christmas
by CBrooke92
Summary: It's the first Christmas for the Charming as a family and it's also a first Christmas for Emma. Knowing what she's going to get her mom and Henry, the only gift she needs, is one for her father. How far will she go to give her father, who she barely knows, the perfect gift?


**Hey Y'all! Another one-shot I thought up. I've been meaning to do longer stories, but with college finals coming up, I don't have time. So this story is most about Emma and James because there's not a lot of FanFictions about them. Enjoy and Please Review!**

**It's a Christmas Story for the holidays. MERRY CHRISTMAS OUAT FANS!**

**Description:**** It's the first Christmas for the Charming as a family and it's also a first Christmas for Emma. Knowing what she's going to get her mom and Henry, the only gift she needs, is one for her father. How far will she go to give her father, who she barely knows, the perfect gift?**

**December 24: Christmas Eve**

Emma paces back and forth in her room. She been having a difficult week. This is her first Christmas with family and finding gifts for everyone was a lot harder than she expected. Henry wasn't to bad. He's been talking about his horse none stop, so Emma bought him a custom made saddle. Next, came her mother Snow. During their time in the Enchanted Forest, all Snow would talk about is wanting to get to know her daughter. So, Emma found every picture she had from her childhood and put them in a little box. One last thing she threw in there was an 'Any Questions For One Day Card'. This will allow her mother to ask questions about her life all day and she'll answer them truthfully.

Now, on December 24, one day until Christmas, she still needs a gift for her father. She refuses to ask Snow for help. Emma thought about giving him the usually stuff kids get their dad's: tools, things for their cars, a knife, etc. But she didn't want usual, she wanted meaningful. She hasn't spent much time with James, and they rarely talk to each other. Since talking and expressing emotions didn't come easy to Emma, she thought giving him the perfect gift will show him that she really does love him.

Getting frustrated, Emma decides to go for a walk and clear her head. She grabs her jacket and heads for the stairs until she hears her parents talking. Emma takes this as a perfect opportunity to figure out what to get James.

"Are you ready for our first Christmas as a family?" Emma hears James ask Snow.

"Of course! Look what I did to the apartment!" Snow points to the living room. There's a huge tree with presents underneath, lights that hung from the ceiling, and cookies that covered the table. Yes, Snow went a little overboard. She glanced at her husband who smiled at her. "So, what do want your Christmas wish to be?" She asked curiously.

James froze for a moment. There were many things he wanted but there was one thing he wanted most. "I, would like to spend some time with our daughter." He answered. "You got to spend weeks with her while I stayed here. I mean, I enjoyed spending time with Henry, but I wish, for one day, I could be a father to her." He looked at Snow and saw tears. James continued, "I would love to rewind time and teach Emma how to sword fight. I would take her to the training grounds and we could spend all day together." James finished as Snow wiped the tears from his face.

Back up stairs, Emma was wiping her own tears. Then, it clicked. She knows what to get her father for Christmas. She checked her phone, 1:30, she still has time. She got on her feet and composed herself. Emma made her way down stairs, "I'm going out. I'll probably be back late tonight so can you make sure Henry's all settled? Ok thanks, bye!"

Snow and James sat there staring at the door. "Do you..."

"Nope." Snow said in confusion.

In the small town of Storybrooke, Emma made her way to Granny's. She called Red and asked her for a favor. When she reached the diner and opened the door, everyone that she needed was there. The dwarfs, Geppetto, Thomas and Ashley, and of course, Red and Granny were all there. Emma cleared her throat. "I, uh, sorry for calling you all here, but I really need a favor."

"Anything your Highness." Happy said.

Emma rolled her eyes. She walked forward and placed both hand on the table. "So, how fast can you build a training ground?"

It was midnight when Emma arrived back home and she was muddy, sweaty, and tired. She opened the door and found that everyone was sleeping. Very quietly, Emma made her way to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she went to her room. She saw Henry sleeping in his twin size bed which they managed to squeeze in there. Emma smiled and laid down. For then first time ever, she was exited for Christmas.

**December 25: Christmas Day**

"Wake up! Wake up!" Henry yelled bouncing on Emma's bed. "Come on mom, get out of bed."

Emma moaned into her pillow. She finally turned over to face her son. "Why are you up so early?" She glanced at the alarm clock. "Oh god, it's 7 in the morning." She pulled the covers over her face.

Henry jumped of the bed and yanked the covers away. "But it's Christmas and Grandma and Grandpa are already up!"

Emma forgot, today's Christmas. "Ok Ok I'm up." She pulled her messy hair into a bun. She looked Henry and smiled, "Race you down stairs!"

Snow and James watched from the couch as their daughter and grandson ran down the stairs. "Whoa slow down!" Snow laughed.

"Present time! Present time!" Henry bounced.

Emma and Henry sat on the floor and went through the gifts. After everyone opened their presents, Emma went behind the tree and pulled out her's.

"Is that big one for me?" Emma nodded. She watched her son rip the box apart. "Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!" Henry hugged his mom.

Snow and James leaned forward to see what's inside. "Oh Emma." Snow smiled.

"It's amazing." James said. It was a brown leather saddle with designs that covered the side. Henry ran back to admire his gift.

"This is for you." Emma hand Snow a small box.

Snow took caution opening it. When she did, she started to cry. There were pictures of her daughter throughout her childhood. It wasn't much, but it was perfect. "This is beautiful!" Snow cried.

"Open the card." Emma pointed to the red paper taped to the box. Snow opened it and read it. "You get to pick a day to ask me any questions you want and I promise to answer them truthfully."

"Thank you so much Emma." Snow hugged her daughter.

Emma walked over to James and handed him a card. He tore it open and it read: _Meet at the mines at noon. Love Emma. _He looked at his daughter and she just smiled. She turned for the kitchen to make breakfast.

James showed Snow the card. "Do you..."

"Nope."

It was finally noon and James was anxious to get to the mines. Emma had left 30 minutes ago saying she had to be somewhere. "Ready to go?" Snow called out.

"Yes!" He said with excitement. He and Henry ran to the car while Snow followed from behind. They drove to the mines and saw cars parked on the side of the road. "What the heck is going on? Henry?"

"Don't look at me. She didn't tell me anything."

James pulled over and he, Snow and Henry exited the vehicle. "Prince James, Snow, glad you could make it." Leroy came up to them.

"What's going on?" Snow asked.

"Follow me." Leroy lead them down a trail and when they reached the clearing, James froze and took a small step back. In front of him was a training ground. There were 15 training dummies, wooden benches facing the arena, a rack that held what look to be about 20 wooden swords, and standing in the center, facing him, was Emma.

"Merry Christmas!" She said. "I herd that you missed all, this." She looked at her father, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't she continued. "Um, the dwarfs built the test dummies, Geppetto crafted the swords, and I asked Thomas and Ashley to get this from under the library." She walked up so she was just inches from James and held out his sword. "Merry Christmas, Dad!" She whispered.

James smiled and took is sword. He glanced at Snow, who was crying, and then at Henry, who was playing with the wooden swords. In one quick movement, he hugged his daughter and spun her around. "Thank You! Thank You! Emma." He stopped and let her go. "I couldn't ask for a better gift. Or yet, a better daughter. I love baby girl." He gave her one last hug.

"I...I love you too." Emma moved and wiped her eyes. She ran and grabbed 2 swords. "So, what do you say old man, wanna challenge me?"

James laughed. "Oh it's so on."

"FATHER DAUGHTER FIGHT!" Leroy yelled.

The crowd gathered around and sat on the benches. Snow and Henry in front. "$5 on Emma." Red waved the bill in the air. She passed a hat around and people started placing their bets.

"$20 on Emma." Snow threw it into the hat.

"Hey!" Charming said.

"Sorry dear! But I will always choose my daughter." Snow smiled at Emma.

Back in the center of the training area, Emma and James took their stances. "You think you're up for this?" James asked.

"Please, I took down Hook." Emma said with pride.

Henry stood up. "Ready Mom?" He yelled. She nodded. "Ready Grandpa?" He nodded. "Fight!"

Emma lugged at her father. They were evenly matched and James was quite surprised. During their dual, James would mention little pointers to help her out. "Shoulders up, Good. Watch your foot work. Never turn your back on your opponent." They continued their battle with everyone cheering from the side lines.

After 5 minutes, James found an opening to strike. When Emma lifted her sword in the air, he went for her legs to knocked her down. But Emma knew it was coming. Somehow she managed to take Charming's sword and knock him down. She stood above him and held both swords by his neck. Breathing heavily, Emma smiled. "I win!"

The crowd cheered and Henry ran to his Mom. "That was so cool!"

Snow went to her husband and helped him up. "You Ok?" She laughed at him.

"Ya." He smiled at his daughter who was playing with Henry. "They grow up so fast."

Snow kissed Charming and joined their family. She hug her daughter. "I'm so proud of you."

Emma chuckled and moved to face her father. "We should do this again."

"We should. But you know, I let you win."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Oh, I plan on it. Hey, I still need to give you your present." James remembered that he didn't get Emma anything because he didn't know what to buy. But now, he knows. He ran to the tree were his sword was. He came back. "Here. It's yours now."

"I...I can't take this. Don't you give this to like some person next in line to the throne or something?"

"Ya, and that's you. You forget, you're the daughter of a King and Queen."

Emma held the sword and took it out of it's case. Henry came by her side and Snow and Charming each laid a hand on her shoulder. "Best Christmas Ever!"


End file.
